Living Nightmares
by JemmaSelene
Summary: Jack and the team have to rescue Sam from Apophis before it's too late.
1. Captured

Major Samantha Carter stumbled out of the Stargate, immediately pulled her weapon up and scanned the area. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the abrupt change in light.

She heard a thump as the last part of the team was thrown out of the Stargate. She ignored it and kept watching the trees. Behind her, Dr. Daniel Jackson got to his feet and the wormhole fizzled closed.

"Sir?" she whispered into the sudden darkness. Without the wormhole's light, the previously blue tinted trees were now dark shadows against an even darker background. They had sent the M.A.L.P. through the day before, and the probe's telemetry had shown a dense forest with lots of places for the colonel and Teal'c to hide.

She peered through the darkness as Dr. Jackson came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. "I don't see them, do you?"

"No, they were right in front of me! They could be anywhere though. I can't see a thing in this darkness!"

She heard a voice behind her, "That's right, Major."

"Sir!"

"Watch your back, Major." Colonel Jack O'Neill stood behind her, gun in his hands and a smirk on his face. Teal'c was beside him, the butt of his staff weapon resting on the ground, he just looked… bored. "We can only see as far as our gun lights."

"Yes sir." She nodded, recovering her composure and lifting her weapon. She flipped on the small light, illuminating the ground a few feet ahead of her.

"Okay, Teal'c, take point, Daniel, with me, Carter, on our six. Let's move." They started down a worn path that seemed to be the only way in or out of the gate's clearing, their lights sending small animals and night insects scuttling away.

The foursome trekked through the woods, all of them were on their toes, guns held tightly. The trees were packed together closely, like solid walls on both sides of the narrow path they were travelling. Roots and branches crisscrossed the path, making them stumble and trip and, more times than not, let out a quiet exclamation.

Suddenly a weird feeling came over Sam as if there was naquada in the area. It was so strong that she could almost taste it. It sent a shiver up her spine.

Naquada was a substance often used by the Goa'uld to make weapons. It was so much a part of their civilization, that it was in their blood. Sam had it in her blood because she was, for a short time, the host of Jolinar of Malkshur, a Tok'ra who had taken her body in an effort to escape from an assassin. Sam could sense when jaffa or Goa'uld were near.

She looked off to her left. The feeling passed and she chalked it up to nerves. "Carter!" O'Neill called back quietly.

She jumped, "Sir?" she said softly, shaking off her jitters. She decided not to tell him about her feeling.

"You're sure the UAV saw no signs of the Goa'uld here?" he asked.

"Yes, the UAV saw no pyramids, temples, or naquada mines." She tilted her head to the side, thinking. After they found that they couldn't see much with the M.A.L.P., they sent an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to get aerial surveys of the area, but with such dense forests it hadn't helped much either. "In fact, the UAV saw no signs of human life around the Stargate at all. Why?"

"Teal'c thought he heard something, it was probably a bird or an animal."

Sam's eyebrows shot up. Teal'c wasn't usually wrong about things like that. He was a jaffa which meant that he had a Goa'uld symbiote that gave him amplified senses in addition to strength and speed.

She was suddenly more alert than ever. Jittery and nervous, she strained her ears and eyes, trying to see or hear an unseen enemy that, though all of her information told her couldn't be there, her gut said was.

"Why have we come to this planet anyway? I thought you said that there were no people here?" It was the colonel again.

Sam shook her head and opened her mouth to answer, but Daniel beat her to it. "Well, no, the UAV didn't pick up any signs of human life around the Stargate, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any human life here. I mean, half of the planet is covered in trees. There could be underground communities, or just low buildings that don't go over the tree tops."

Sam jumped in. "And besides that, we need to take samples of the indigenous plants, soil, rocks, and look at the animal life. I mean, what if we end up finding naquada in the ground? Can you imagine?! A source of naquada untouched by the Goa'uld! That would be an amazing find!" She thought back to her previous feeling. She was still unsettled by it.

"Well, don't get your hopes up, Carter. We'll probably just find a bunch of uninteresting plants and animals," he said sarcastically.

She grinned back, her teeth flashing whitely in the dark. That didn't comfort her. A low hanging branch brushed through her short blonde hair, knocking off her cap. She bent down to retrieve it and found that the branch was tangled in her hair. "What the—." Her hand reached up to untangle the branch.

When she reached up, she touched, not a stick, but a hand. Her eyes widened in shock. She looked up and had opened her mouth to warn the others when the hand came down on her mouth and smothered her shout to a quiet whimper. She struggled against the hands that constrained her. She bit down on the hand over her mouth and kicked out, trying to get to her feet.

The jaffa began dragging her away. Finally, she bit down on the hand hard enough that she broke the skin and tasted blood. He jerked it away, clenching his teeth in anger. "Colonel!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Look—!" The hand came down again, muffling her cry.

The jaffa, tired of fighting with her, struggled to pull out his zat'nikatel. Sam realized what he was doing and fought even harder against him. He succeeded in getting it out and shot her.

The blue electricity danced over her body as she slumped to the ground, unconscious. The jaffa picked her up and walked into the night, Sam's inert body slung over his shoulder.

* * *

Teal'c stopped and held up his hand, signaling the group to stop. He cocked his head and listened. He thought he heard something behind them. He looked back. Daniel and Jack were giving him quizzical looks, but Sam was not there. "Where is Major Carter?"

Jack and Daniel looked around. "Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Jack?" Daniel asked back. "She was behind me and I didn't hear her go off the path or anything, maybe she just fell behind?"

"We should go back and make sure she didn't stop. If she fell behind she might have lost sight of us and stopped make sure she was still on the trail." Daniel nodded, but Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"I do not believe Major Carter would let herself be left behind. I heard something behind us, maybe she met up a creature that is indigenous to this area and was attacked."

Jack looked back, "We should go back, especially if T heard something. She might need help." He started back down the path, Daniel and Teal'c following. "Carter? Carter! Come on! Answer!" he whispered frantically.

Soon Daniel took up the call in his quiet voice. "Sam? We're trying to find you!" They looked into the trees on the sides of the path, trying to find any sign that she wandered off of the path.

Again the party stopped, but this time it was because of O'Neill. "Did you hear that?" he whispered. They had come to a sharp bend in the path and couldn't see through the trees.

They all listened hard and heard a voice. "Colonel! Loo--!" The cry was cut off and all they heard was muffled shouts. It was Sam.

The colonel was about to rush forward when they heard the zing of a zat being fired. He swore quietly and jolted toward the bend, but Daniel held him back.

"What are you doing?!" he whispered fiercely. "We have to help her!" Daniel shook his head.

Teal'c nodded. "Daniel Jackson is correct O'Neill. We will be of no help to Major Carter if we too are captured."

"Right," Jack seemed to realize that there was nothing he could do and stood still. If they rushed out there to try and rescue her now, the jaffa could zat her again and that would kill her.

Daniel let go of him and he didn't move. They all stood quietly for a minute, listening to the forest, making sure that the unknown wasn't still there. They heard the sounds of someone or something pushing its way through the underbrush. After a few minutes they didn't hear anything and proceeded around the bend in the path.

Sam was nowhere to be seen. O'Neill dropped to the ground, looking for signs that she got away, but his hopes were dashed. There were scuff marks on the ground, where someone had kicked out multiple times.

Jack looked up at the other two. "Well, she put up a fight so, whoever it was, he was definitely an enemy. He had to be strong and quiet if he could get the better of Sam." Teal'c was looking at the trees on the left side of the path. "What's up, T?

Teal'c pointed to the trees and underbrush. "Her adversary went this way, presumably carrying Major Carter."

Daniel frowned. "How do you know that?"

In answer to his question, Teal'c dropped to the ground and pointed out a set of footprints. "These footprints are not Major Carter's. They are too large and deep. They are also deeper going out than they were going in, suggesting that he was carrying a considerable amount of weight."

Jack nodded in agreement. "You see right here?" He pointed to a spot near the edge of the path, it was close to the footprints Teal'c found. "The person zatted _her_, not the other way around, see the indentation from her body? And here's her P90. There's no way she could have recovered from a zat blast that quickly. _If_ she had been left, she would still be laying here, out cold."

Teal'c was still looking at the footprints. "This was a jaffa." He pointed to the pattern inside the print. "He was wearing the boots that jaffa wear into battle."

"What would a _jaffa_ want with Carter?" O'Neill asked, incredulously.

"Well, maybe he crash landed here, knows Carter's reputation as a scientist, and wants her to fix his ship. Or maybe he is a bounty hunter and wants to collect the rather high bounty that is on her head as the last host of Jolinar of Malkshur. There are many possibilities," Daniel said, looking from Jack to Teal'c, waiting for confirmation that his theory was true.

Teal'c inclined his head. "Indeed, there are many reasons why a jaffa would want to capture any of us. In fact, she may simply be bait to get all of us."

"Well, why don't we do a little recon then and see where they took her." Jack got up and brushed his hands on the sides of his pants.

Daniel looked at him incredulously. "Shouldn't we wait? You know, get some back up? You don't know how many jaffa there are!"

Jack looked at him. "That's why we're just going to have a look. To see what we're up against."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He was obviously with Daniel on this one.

"Look, we don't even know for sure that it's a jaffa! Couldn't it be someone wearing their boots who wants us to think he's a one?"

Teal'c inclined his head. "It is possible."

"See?! So come on. We aren't going to launch a rescue mission yet. We're just going to look around." He started off in the direction that the jaffa took. Teal'c followed him, recognizing that he was the commanding officer on this mission. Daniel followed more reluctantly. He was radiating disapproval like carbon fourteen radiated, well, radiation, thought O'Neill.

Daniel wasn't happy that the colonel was acting so rashly. It was almost like they had switched places. Sure he was worried about Sam and wanted to find her as soon as possible, but they couldn't rescue her if they were caught by the same jaffa!

He stumbled over a tree root, grabbing the tree to help regain his balance. If they had gone back to the SGC, instead of trekking through the woods, they could have been using a UAV to find her.

They hiked for a long time, following the jaffa's surprisingly clear path through the trees. "She…is definitely…being used…as bait," Daniel panted.

Teal'c raised his eyebrow and nodded, "Indeed."

They stopped to rest. "_Really?_ You don't say?" Jack said sarcastically. "What kind of _jaffa_ leaves a trail this obvious? Teal'c? Is it even _possible?!_"

"Yes. If the jaffa was severely injured or thought he was alone he would not be as careful," Teal'c replied.

"Or if he wanted us to follow him," Daniel added in. He was sitting on the ground, his back against one of the many trees.

They were all silent for a moment, catching their breath and sipping water from their canteens. Suddenly, a soft moaning broke the quiet. They looked at each other and peered through the trees.

They were back at the Stargate! Daniel looked at Jack incredulously. "We walked all that way, just to get back to the Stargate!" he whispered fiercely. Jack nudged him and pointed at the Dial Home Device, also known as the DHD.

There were twelve jaffa surrounding it. Sam was still unconscious, slung over the shoulder of the one closest to the Stargate. Jack could tell they wanted to get her out of there as quickly as possible.

She stirred and mumbled. One of the jaffa took out his zat and pointed it at her. Jack stiffened, it was two early! If they shot her again it would kill her! Beside him, Daniel and Teal'c were on their toes, he knew that if he said the word they would be ready.

To his relief, the jaffa holding her protested. He held out his hand and said something in the goa'uld language. Jack looked at Daniel for the translation.

"He says that…that she is too valuable to kill, that the god Apophis needs her information." Daniel looked at Jack, his eyes wide. "They're going to torture her Jack."

"I know." Of course he knew, Daniel could have hit himself on the head. They obviously weren't crash landed, and what else could they need her for? Apophis wanted Jolinar's memories and all the information on the Tok'ra that she had.

Daniel watch, an icy feeling dread settling into the pit of his stomach, as Sam was sucked through the watery vortex of the Stargate.


	2. Waking Up

General Hammond sat in the briefing room with what was left of SG-1. "Colonel, what happened out there? And what happened to Major Carter?"

Jack sighed and explained the whole situation. "They took her through the Stargate sir. We only got four of the glyphs, but the computer can find out where they took her. Sir, permission to go to the planet and rescue Carter."

"I'm sorry Jack, but I already asked. The president doesn't think that it's worth risking people's lives for one person. No matter how much we all want her back, I'm going to have to say no."

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Son of a---" he swore, unable to keep his eyes away from the major's empty chair. "What happens to 'nobody gets left behind'?" he asked the table dejectedly.

"I'm sorry Jack, but if Major Carter's going to get out of this, she's going to have to do it on her own." The general's tone said that it was final and Jack didn't respond.

He just got up and walked out. General Hammond bowed his head, "Dismissed." Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a look before following Jack out the door.

"What are we going to do Jack?" Daniel asked, jogging to catch up with him.

"Nothing, Daniel."

"But we have to do something! This is Sam we're talking about! We can't just—"

"Daniel! You heard General Hammond! The president denied it! So no, no matter how much I want to go after her, we aren't going to do anything. And don't you dare accuse me of not realizing whose life is at stake." Jack's eyes burned with rage and frustration. He turned away from Daniel's shocked face and walked down the hall.

* * *

Sam woke up. It was damp and dimly lit wherever she was. She tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness washed over her and she laid back down. She was feeling the aftereffects of the zat. She shivered.

She was laying on a stone shelf that was being held off the ground by thick metal chains. The walls were made of grey stones, water was dripping down them. The door was made of iron bars, they were thick and impenetrable. A large lock held the door closed.

Sam felt like someone had stuffed cotton in her head. She sat up slowly, the dizziness had gone away. She stood up and walked around her cell. There was no window, suggesting that she was underground somewhere. The lack of light made it seem smaller than it was.

There was a very suspicious looking jug of water by the bed. She sniffed it and then ignored it, there were probably drugs in it. She was parched but she would rather take her chances with the water from the wall.

She felt all of her pockets, looking for anything that might help her situation. All of her pockets were empty, they had even stripped her of the small piece of wire that was useful for picking locks. She sighed and started feeling the walls for any loose stones that she could use as weapons.

She had just gotten through with the first wall when she heard the clanking of boots coming down the hall. She skittered to the back of the cell and stood, ready to fight if she had to.

Two jaffa stood in front of her cell. There was a person behind them, she knew instinctively that it was a goa'uld. Sam leaned from side to side, trying to see who it was. She didn't have to. The goa'uld stepped forward. She gasped. It was Klorel, or, as she knew him on Abydos, Skaara.

Skaara was from the first planet that SG-1 had ever been to, Abydos. Just after they arrived, the goa'uld Apophis had come and kidnapped Skaara and Sha're, Daniel's wife. They had tried to save them but they were turned into goa'uld. Sha're became Ammonet and Skaara became Klorel.

The jaffa stepped into the cell and grabbed her arms. She fought against them as they practically dragged her out of the cell. Klorel lifted his right hand, revealing a goa'uld hand device.

Sam fought even harder, writhing in their grasp, the hand devices had a reputation of being lethal. The gem in the center of the device lit up and Sam felt her body melt. All of her muscles turned into Jell-O. She went limp, the only thing keeping her from falling was the jaffa holding her up.

Her head lolled back and she blinked sleepily at the goa'uld in front of her. Inside, she was frustrated. Her body would not respond to her commands. She tried to fight against the effects of the device, but couldn't. She was helpless as they carried her down a long hallway lined with cells and through the goa'uld's domain.

* * *

Jack sat in his office, staring into space. His thoughts were filled with brutal images. Sam being tortured and killed over and over, slowly losing the essence of who she was. Sam, dying, for real, no getting her back. Sam as a goa'uld, her eyes glowing and her face haughty.

Memories. Killing her to save her from the computer virus that had taken over her mind. Seeing her lying on the ground in the brig after Jolinar was killed, looking like death. Watching helplessly as she fought against the clan leader in a death match for her freedom and the freedom of all the women on that planet. Collapsing on the Crystal Skull's planet and later laying in the infirmary, so still, unconscious from radiation poisoning.

Sam laughing in the mess hall when Jack cracked a joke. Sam sitting in his living room with him, Daniel, and Teal'c, a grin on her face, as Daniel and Teal'c argued about whether to watch Indiana Jones or Star Wars. Sam, bent over her computer in her lab, working on something that Jack would never be able to understand no matter how many times she tried to explain it. Sam on a mission, tense and ready for anything, her soldier expression on her face. On the first day, defending herself against him, proving herself in his eyes. Her sunny smile whenever he said something stupid or funny. The good memories were worse than the bad ones.

Finally, Jack couldn't take it anymore, his throat ached from unshed tears that no one would see. He jumped up and walked out of his office and down the hall.

Daniel was sitting in his office cataloging some artifacts that SG-6 found on P3X-534. "Hey Daniel. I'm sorry, I was harsh before."

Daniel looked up. "Yeah, you were." He looked back down at his precious artifacts.

"I can't stand this! Sitting around, doing nothing? While they do who-knows-what to Carter!" Jack paced back and forth, up and down the room.

"It's like you said before, the president said no. You can't exactly overrule the president. And he has a point. We're assuming that they took her to a major goa'uld planet, the Stargate will be heavily guarded. Even if we bring in the cavalry, too many lives would be at stake. What's up Jack? You know this."

"It's just…I'm worried that's all." He turned away and Daniel let it go.

"Sam will get out of this Jack. Don't worry, she can take care of herself." Daniel was lying through his teeth. He had no idea what Sam was up against. All they could do was hope.

* * *

Sam was pushed to her knees in the middle of what appeared to be a throne room. There was a large, raised golden chair against the far wall. In the throne was the source of most of her nightmares, Apophis.

She should have known. Klorel never strayed far from his father. Her body was still under the influence of the hand device. The jaffa were still holding her upright. She faced the false god, scared out of her skin.

"Samantha Carter, former host of Jolinar of Malkshur. You will tell me what you know about the Tok'ra." He was overly confident, a smirk on his face.

"I won't tell you anything!" Sam said defiantly, thanking whatever god there was, that her mouth was still under her control.

Apophis smiled and stood up, walking toward her. "I was hoping you would say that." He reached out his right hand and powered up his hand device. A beam shot out of it and into her forehead. That's when she started screaming.

* * *

Colonel O'Neill jerked awake. He was spending the night at the base. He couldn't bear to leave the base in case something came up. He turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but found that he couldn't. It wasn't that the base beds were uncomfortable, he just couldn't go to sleep.

He got up and walked out of the room. The halls were empty so Jack didn't have to worry about being seen. He was heading to Daniel's room.

He knocked on the door and heard a scuffling. "Yes, who is it?"

"Daniel! Let me in!" Jack whispered roughly, glancing around. He was worried about being seen.

"'Kay, one sec." After a moment the door opened revealing Daniel in a white tee-shirt and worn sweatpants. "What do you want Jack?"

The colonel pushed past him into the room. "What do you know about the planet that they took her too?"

"Well, I know that it is a major goa'uld planet, owned by Apophis. It's where he stays most of the time. If that is really where Sam is she will never be able to get out on her own," Daniel said frankly.

Jack's heart plummeted. "Well, then we'll get her out of there ourselves."

Daniel looked shocked. "But it was denied at the highest level! We aren't allowed."

"Well, then we'll just have to sneak out won't we?" Jack's eyes twinkled mischievously. Daniel blinked.

"Jack, I know you want Sam back, but think about this! You could get court-martialed and I could go to jail! Not to mention Teal'c, he'd probably get sent to Area 51!" Jack winced, Daniel had a point.

"Let's find out what Teal'c thinks about this," Jack said. "Get some decent clothes on."

Daniel looked down at his clothes. "Right." He hurried into the closet and changed into the uniform green pants and black top. "Let's go."

Teal'c stared at them. "That would be very foolish O'Neill." When Jack stared at him in shock, Teal'c said thoughtfully, "When you were trapped on the planet with Maybourne Major Carter was distressed at the thought of never seeing you again. I believe you are feeling the same way."

Jack turned away. "I would be worried if it was any of you." Jack knew that wasn't true though. He'd never be as worried as he was about Carter.

"Indeed, I often see Major Carter as a younger sister. I, too, am very worried about her."

Daniel nodded. "Me three," he said. "So, how're we going to do this?" he asked.

"So you're in, Teal'c? What about you?" Jack turned to him, curiously.

"I will go with you O'Neill."

"Great! Now here's what we'll do…" They huddled together planning while the base slept around them.

* * *

The jaffa dumped Sam back into her cell. She was unconscious, an angry red burn mark on her forehead showed where the beam from the hand device had hit her.

A servant was sent into her cell to bring her food and water. The servant was a young woman, she felt pity for the strange prisoner, but, not wishing to provoke the wrath of the god, kept her feelings to herself.

The servant gazed at the prisoner, she looked so different. Her hair was like spun gold and her skin was fair. The servant wondered if she was a lesser god, sent here for crossing the all powerful Apophis. The servant looked around before stroking her fingers through the prisoner's short hair. It felt so soft! Like the fringe on the god's clothing!

The woman stirred, her eyes fluttering. The servant's eyes widened, she stepped closer, eager to be of help. "Hello." The woman saw her and got to her feet quickly. The servant was surprised. She was like an animal, tense and skittish. "Do not be alarmed! I am Faera."

She held out the bowl of food and the jug of water. "Eat, drink. You will feel better after you do." The woman stared at her. "What is your name?"

"You can call me Sam. Where am I?" Sam looked around the small cell.

"You are at the Grand Palace of the God Apophis. You are a prisoner here."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I got that much."

She didn't speak like the gods, Faera thought. She looked at Sam curiously. "Are you a god?"

Sam jumped. "What?! No! I'm not a god! What on…what made you think that?" She seemed angry and surprised that she had been called a god.

"Your hair. It is like nothing I have seen before. It is like the sun! I thought only a god could have hair like that!"

Sam cursed under her breath. "When I get back I have _got_ to dye my hair!" she muttered to herself. "How can I explain this…. Where I come from people have different colored hair. Red, gold, brown, black, some even have colors like blue and purple!"

Faera's eyes widened. "You must come from a grand place indeed, for people to have hair like that!"

"Yeah, where I come from is pretty great," Sam said wistfully.

"Do you know why you are here?" Faera asked, curiously.

"Yes, I have information that Apophis wants badly."

"Then why don't you give it to him? He is a god!" Faera sounded shocked.

"I can't, Faera, people's lives are at stake. If I give him the information many lives will be lost." Sam sounded desperate.

Faera felt sorry for this woman. She sounded like she was trying to do the right thing. "If you don't give him the information, he won't stop torturing you until you give it to him." Faera had seen many people come and go. "Today was just a test, to see how hard you would be to break. You may take longer than the rest but he will break you all the same."

Sam shuddered at her words. She didn't doubt that the young woman knew what she was talking about. That didn't mean that she was going to give up, if she could convince Faera to help her than she might have a fighting chance.

"Faera, you leave this place. All you would have to do is help me find a way to escape and I'll take you with me!"

Faera looked appalled. "You would defy a god! You will be greatly punished!" The servant turned and knocked on the cell bars. The jaffa came over and let her out. The servant turned around. "If you give the god what he wants than you will be greatly rewarded." When Sam shook her head, Faera's eyes hardened and she turned away. If Sam wouldn't change her mind then Faera wouldn't allow herself to become attached with her.

Sam watched in despair as her only chance of escape walked away and didn't look back.


	3. Memories

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were holed up in Dr. Jackson's office researching Apophis, looking for references to torture practices or the ways that he extracted information.

Daniel kept shooting worried glances at O'Neill, until Jack could take it no more. "Spit it out."

Daniel looked surprised. "What?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Daniel, I've known you for four years. You're just bursting to say something. So spit it out!"

Daniel looked away. "Alright! Alright! It's just…I can't help but think that…" He looked sheepish.

"Daniel…" Jack's tone was full of warning, but Daniel ignored it and plowed ahead.

"What if he's torturing her the way Baal tortured you?" Daniel finished quickly. He winced, waiting for Jack to hit him.

Jack looked away. Daniel knew he had crossed a line. They never talked about Jack's terrifying experience with Baal. It wasn't taboo. They just didn't talked about it for fear of undoing all of the good that the therapists had done.

Memories flooded into his head. The knife hovering near his shoulder. Unable to move away, to defend himself, pinned to the grate like an animal in a trap. A drop of acid stopping just above his chest, then falling, burning through his clothes first and then his chest. Dying over and over, always waking up to find out that it wasn't over yet. Feeling everything that made him who he was being stripped away, leaving an animal who only knew pain.

He wouldn't let that happen to Sam. He wouldn't let that slime ball goa'uld take away everything that made her Sam. It hurt him to imagine her being tortured by a person who was so evil that he didn't think twice about killing an innocent person, over and over.

"Jack?" He shook his head, blinking as though he was coming out of a dream, or in this case, a nightmare. Daniel was looking at him, concern filling his eyes. "Did you hear me? I said that we can't let that happen, Jack."

He nodded wordlessly. "We can't just sit around and do nothing. We have to change the general's mind. That or…" he looked at them. They knew what was coming next. "We ask to go back on active duty and sneak away during our next mission."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Makes sense, for us to go during a mission I mean, we wouldn't have to beat up guards or anything. Assuming he's going to get us a fourth member pretty quickly, all we would have to do is either zat him or convince him to come with us!"

Teal'c nodded, still agreeing with Daniel, but at least it worked out for the colonel this time. "Okay, so I'll tell the general that we're ready to go back on active duty, Daniel, you and Teal'c find out which planet we're headed to. Just trick Harriman or Siler or someone to input it into the computer." The colonel grinned. "Should be easy enough." The other two nodded and left the room, heading for their separate destinations.

* * *

Sam slept fitfully, waking up constantly, too scared to sleep. Memories flitted to the surface. The colonel, coming out of the Stargate with the woman, looking like death itself. Skittish and wary, he wouldn't let anyone, even Dr. Fraiser, touch him. The months it took him to recover. The nightmares.

Sam shook her head, trying to clear it of the dark thoughts that were threatening to consume her. _Don't give up Carter! Don't you dare give up on us now!_ That's what the colonel would say, so that's what she would do. She wouldn't give up, because that would mean condemning herself to death, or worse, and she wasn't ready for that.

She heard footsteps coming down the corridor and moved to the back of the cell, preparing herself.

Two jaffa appeared in front of her cell, they opened the door and walked inside. Sam tensed, this couldn't be good. They grabbed her, pulling her arms behind her and pushing her out of the cell. She struggled, kicking back with her feet, jerking her arms, but all they did was pull her arms tighter behind her and push her to walk faster.

She was escorted into the throne room again, though now Sam was thinking of it as the torture room. Again, Apophis was sitting in the throne, looking amused by her attempts to escape. "Samantha," he tutted, a superior look on his face. "you mustn't struggle against them so, you might damage yourself."

Sam let loose a string of swear words directed at the false god. He chuckled. "Bring her to me." The jaffa complied, dragging her closer to him. "You will feel a small amount of pain."

His fingers touched her temple and she felt a light, shooting pain. Her breath hissed through her teeth. She recognized the feeling, but couldn't place it. Now he was running a device in circles over the one she could feel attached to her temple, too late, she realized what it was.

Flashes of her life filled her mind. It was as if she was really back in the memories. She was fourteen again, in her kitchen, the aroma of chocolate around her as she flipped the cookies from the pan to the plate. She heard the front door open then close. She paid it no mind, she already knew who it was. She turned around, "How was it?" Then realizing, "Where's mom?" Her father's face said it all. "NO!" She slammed down the spatula, hot tears spilling down her face as she raced to her bedroom.

She yanked herself out of the memory. Tears were sliding over her pale cheeks. "Oh God…" She quickly recovered, hating to show weakness in the face of her enemy. "I'm not going to tell you anything!" Apophis smiled.

Another memory swept her away. The team was coming back from a mission. The colonel telling her to punch the code in to let them know that it was safe. She looked down at the device, punching one number and beginning to say it.

Sam realized what he was doing and stopped. "No! I won't tell you anything!" The memory disappeared, replaced by real life. She glared at the goa'uld defiantly.

"We will see." He turned the other half of the Tok'ra memory device over and over in his hands.

* * *

Jack was arguing with General Hammond. "Sir! It's driving us crazy staying here and doing nothing! We need to be doing something!" He was standing in front of the general's desk.

"I suppose you've got a point, Jack, but it's only been two days! Are you sure that you want to do this?" Hammond looked concerned.

"General, I know there's a chance that Carter might escape on her own, but in the meantime I don't want to be moping around here. Carter wouldn't want us moping around here! She would want us out there! Doing what we can." She would want us out there saving her, Jack thought.

General Hammond sighed. "You'll need a fourth person."

Jack looked down. "It might take me a while to find the right person, sir, and I'd prefer to start back on missions straight away."

General Hammond's brow furrowed, he stared at Jack, trying to see his motive for starting so soon. "If you're only going to have three people, then I'll switch you with SG-8, they were supposed to go to P3R-790 on a reconnaissance mission. You can have that and they can go on your mission to P3X-777 to make first contact with the people of that planet."

Jack nodded, "Perfect. Thank you, sir." He turned to leave.

"Jack," General Hammond said. Jack around slowly, afraid that he'd been caught. "Briefing at 0800 tomorrow, you leave at 1000 hours." Jack nodded and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Daniel and Teal'c walked into the 'gate control room. Daniel was worrying the small scrap of paper he was holding. Teal'c looked, as always, unfazed by their situation. They walked up to Siler, who was sitting in his usual place in front of the 'gate computer.

"So, the computer can figure out 'gate addresses even if you only have half the glyphs, right?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Well, yeah, sure." Siler looked at him.

"So, can we see how it works? Say, with this address?" Daniel handed him a sheet of paper and recited the lie he'd planned before. "I found these glyphs on some ruins and want to see if we have the address programmed into the computer."

Siler nodded. "Of course." He took the paper and turned back to the computer. "Here's how it works, you input the coordinates here, and the computer searches for any addresses that have the matching symbols in this order."

Information scrolled down the screen. Address after address, there were thousands of them! Finally, the computer stopped on one. Perfect match. Daniel exchanged an excited look with Teal'c. They'd found her!

Daniel quickly wrote down the full address and gave it to Teal'c. "Thank you for that interesting demonstration, we appreciate it." He looked at Teal'c. "He's more excited than he looks." Teal'c bowed his head. "Well…bye!" They hurried out to tell O'Neill the good news.


	4. Escape and Rescue

**Author Note:** Hey guys! Sorry it took a little longer for this chapter! I already had most of the other one's written before I started posting!! I am a slow writer so it might take longer for some chapters than others, but here's chapter four!!

**Warning:** Warehouse 13...LOVING IT!!!

* * *

Jack was waiting for them in Daniel Jackson's office. He wore a grimly triumphant smile on his face. "We've got a slot. We get briefed at 0800 tomorrow morning, and leave at 1000. It just a reconnaissance mission but we're going off planet. But that will all be for nothing if you didn't get the address." He suddenly looked worried. "You did get the address, didn't you?"

Daniel looked at Teal'c, brow furrowed. "Well…" Jack's expression fell. "Of course we got it! Did you really think we would fail you now? Sam needs us, and we're going to get her." Daniel looked determined, almost scarily so.

Jack nodded. "Good. Now let's get some sleep. We need to be ready if we're going to infiltrate Apophis's planet and get Sam without getting caught." The others nodded. "That wasn't a request! Go!" They looked at him, and then scuttled off to their quarters. Jack leaned against Daniel's table, relishing in the silence for a moment before heading off to sleep.

* * *

When Sam was finally released from the memory device, she was in her cell. Tears were leaking from her eyes. She had been forced to remember the worst of her memories, the memories that haunted her nightmares. She gasped for breath, as if she was drowning in her despair. She tried to sit up, but found herself weakened. What had they done to her?! She knew that she hadn't been in control of herself for hours, what had she told them in her delirium? She shuddered violently.

Her body felt as though it had been beaten and abused as she suspected she had been. She felt a stinging on her face, touched it, and was astonished to find a long cut from her temple almost to the left corner of her mouth. It was just deep enough to leave a scar, but not deep enough to need stitches.

Her body was quickly losing the strength that it had retained. She could feel fatigue pressing on her eyelids, and her eyesight was framed in black. She struggled to stay conscious, who knew what they would do to her if she let go. Her eyes began to close, she couldn't fight it. Her eyes slid closed and she faded into darkness.

When Faera entered the cell to give Sam her food, she found her unconscious on the bench. She winced at the sight of the cut down her face and the bruises marring her arms. She put the bowls down and walked out, wondering why she was so shaken by the abuse of the woman.

* * *

Jack was dreaming. Sam's face drifted in and out of focus, always calling for help. She was beaten and bruised. In the dream and knife came out of the darkness, cutting through her heart. Her eyes widened, she choked. Jack could see the light leaving her eyes. "No!" he screamed as loud as he possibly could. She exhaled and her eyes dulled, he had seen it on the field many times, but this was Carter! She couldn't die! Tears poured down his cheeks. "NO!"

He was awakened by his screams. His cheeks were wet. He took a deep breath, just a dream, just a dream. He turned over and looked at his clock, 0600 hours, might as well get up. He put on his blue BDUs, just for a change, and went down the corridor to the mess hall for breakfast.

Daniel hadn't slept much better, haunted by nightmares of Sam and Sha're. He was up shortly after Jack, and, also in blue, met Jack in the mess hall.

"Couldn't sleep, you?" Jack asked, wolfing down a bagel. He looked awful.

"Nope." Daniel ate a spoonful of Fruit Loops. Jack made a face. He never had been able to eat Fruit Loops after that whole Ground Hog Day situation. "I've been thinking…"

Jack looked up. He could tell that he wasn't going to like this one bit. "What? Daniel…" His brow furrowed.

"Well…" He hesitated. "Don't you think that it was a little too convenient that the jaffa were on the planet when we got there? And the fact that they only took Sam made me even more suspicious. If it had been a coincidence they wouldn't have taken her alive. They would have shot her on the spot! Why else would they have taken her if not under orders?"

Jack's eyebrows skyrocketed and Daniel could tell that he hadn't thought of that. He looked down at his bagel. "Good point, but who would tell Apophis that we were going?"

Daniel made a face. "A better question would be who knew that we were going to the planet? Anyone on the base could have told Apophis! And then we need someone with a reason."

Jack nodded thoughtfully. "That means we need to be very careful when we go to the planet. They might very well be expecting us."

Daniel nodded and looked at his watch. Fifteen minutes till the briefing. "We'd better hurry if we are going to make it to the briefing." Jack nodded. They put their plates away and headed out.

* * *

Apophis had abandoned the memory device. Sam was thankful for that. She didn't struggle as they pulled it from her temple, in fact, she relaxed some. Apophis walked back up to sit in the throne. "Where is the Tok'ra home world?"

Sam shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," she said calmly. Apophis nodded to someone behind her. Sam had just enough time to realize that they had moved on to a new form of torture before she felt the overwhelming pain of a goa'uld fire-brand course through her body.

She fought to stay on her feet, but her body betrayed her. Orange fire shined out of her open mouth and eyes. She screamed and screamed. Finally, Apophis signaled for the jaffa to stop. "How do you get into the Tok'ra tunnels?" Sam glared at him, gasping for breath. The fire-brand touched her again. This time she didn't even try to fight it.

When it stopped, her vision swam and she swayed, tenaciously trying to hold her ground. She would not give up. She didn't hear the next question and when the fire-brand struck her, she fled to the back of her mind, thinking of Jack and rescue.

* * *

The briefing was short. It wasn't long before the team was gearing up and getting ready to move out. They took more weapons with them than they generally would have on a normal reconnaissance mission. They opted for smaller weapons that they could easily hide on their person. Like knives and zats and pieces of wire and string. Daniel even hid a razor sharp scalpel in the lining of his pocket.

Soon they were ready to go. They stood waiting in the gate room at fifteen minutes till ten. They spent the extra time checking each other's packs and feeling bad for going without General Hammond's permission. When the time finally came, the 'gate opened and, much to Jack's relief, General Hammond came on the mike and said "SG-1, you have a go. Godspeed."

Jack nodded, signaled to his team and marched rapidly up the ramp, happy to be doing something about Carter's situation.

General Hammond watched as SG-1 went through the gate. He was truly sorry about Major Carter and wanted to send teams after her. He was bound by the president's decision, bound by his own rope. He walked out of the gate room and down the stairs to his office. He would try to get the president on his side one more time.

* * *

Sam thought it would go on forever, the pain and screaming, but finally it stopped. She slumped over to the ground, only partially unconscious. Unable to move, the jaffa grabbed her arms and dragged to Apophis. "Tell me what you know and I will stop this," he whispered, his strange goa'uld voice sounded very alluring.

Sam almost broke, she even opened her mouth to tell him, when she remembered who she was. "Never," she whispered, as fiercely as she could.

The goa'uld, angry now, signaled for the jaffa to take her away. On the way back through the halls, she lost consciousness again, gratefully retreating into the dark.

* * *

Jack walked out onto the planet. Shaking off the shivers that gate travel sent down his spine, he looked for any sign of danger. The rest of the team followed and also looked around. There appeared to be no one in the vicinity of the Stargate, but as Jack knew, looks can be deceiving.

The Stargate was positioned on the top of a grassy hill. They could see the village at the bottom, not that any of them were really paying attention to the view. It was beautiful, as if nature was mocking their bad situation. Flowers were blooming everywhere and birds and bees were flying about.

O'Neill squinted in the bright sunlight as he looked back at the team. "Daniel, dial us out." Daniel nodded and turned to the DHD.

* * *

Faera couldn't stop thinking about Sam. The desperation and defiance in her eyes haunted Faera. She stared at the wall of her small quarters. The second time they had taken Sam out of her cell, Faera had followed. She had watched as the fire-brand touched Sam's back again and again. She had shuddered at the memory of the unbearable pain that the fire-brand sent through her body. She flinched away from the thought.

She was shaken out of her reverie by a soft call. "Mother?" Faera quickly got up and walked to the other side of the room where a small girl was sitting up on a soft mat. Blankets covered her and her small hands rubbed at her eyes.

"Shhh, go back to sleep honey. It's okay." She rubbed her daughter's back calmingly. "Shhhhhhh." Her daughter closed her eyes and leaned against her mother sleepily.

Faera sighed in relief. Apophis didn't know about her daughter yet and Faera planned on keeping it that way. It was getting harder though. Nia was five now and Faera hated to keep her cooped up inside the room. Nia hated to be cooped up too. She didn't get why she had been kept in the same room for her entire life.

Nia's body was warm and heavy. Faera looked down on her lovingly. That was when she made her decision. She gently pushed Nia off of her legs and walked out of the room, silently closing the door behind her.

* * *

Sam felt something brush her forehead. She tried to move her hand to brush it off, but her hand was too heavy, it wouldn't move. She tried to open her eyes and got swift image of a face above her before her eyes slammed shut again.

"Sam?" She recognized the voice. "Sam, wake up. I need to tell you something while we are alone. Sam!" A hand touched her cheek.

"F-Faera?" She forced her lips to move. "Where?..." She tried to move again, but failed. Her body was too heavy.

"You are in your cell, can you hear me?" Faera wiped Sam's forehead with a wet cloth again.

"Yes. I can hear you. You needed to tell me something?" Sam tried to open her eyes and peered blurrily at Faera.

"Yes, I have decided that I will help you escape. I have a condition."

Sam nodded. "Yes, whatever you need." She felt her eyes beginning to close again.

"I will help you escape if you will let me and my daughter come with you." Faera sounded desperate.

Sam's heart constricted. "How…how old is she?" Sam managed through dry lips.

Faera hesitated, she looked down. "She's five winters old. Apophis doesn't know about her. If he knew he would take her from me! I have hidden her here since she was born. But she is getting hard to hide, she is curious about the world. I can't let her see though. Please, will you help me?"

"Of course," Sam answered immediately, without another thought. She was struggling to sit up, trying to get her body to work. Faera saw what she was trying to do and helped her up.

Sam put her hand to her head, trying to still the spinning room. She shut her eyes and willed it to stop. When she opened them again, the room was still swaying but at least the spinning had stopped. With Faera's help, she was able to get to her feet and move to the bench at the back of the cell.

Sam leaned against the cool wall gratefully. She turned to Faera. "How are you going to get us out of here? This place is locked up pretty tight."

Faera smiled. "I know this palace as well as I know my daughter. There are passageways and holes in the guard system. I used to use them to bring Nia, my daughter, out of the palace, but now it is too dangerous." Faera looked at Sam doubtfully. "Of course, you'll need to recover first."

Sam nodded. Her eyes still threatened to close. "We will have to go soon. I'm not sure how long I can go on being tortured like that. They seem to get more physical every time. Who knows what they'll do next time." Her voice was getting weaker.

Faera threw her a worried look. "You should rest." Sam tried to wave her away but wasn't strong enough. Faera helped her lay down on the bench. She was out in seconds. She didn't have time to fight it. Faera stood and watched her until she heard the clanging of booted footsteps, and she slipped out of the cell, locking the door behind her.

Faera scurried down the hallway, back to her quarters. She had almost reached it when she saw her daughter. "Nia! What are you doing?!" she whispered fiercely. "You have to stay in our quarters! If you are seen you will be taken away from me! It can never happen!" She herded the disappointed child back in to the room. "Soon you will be able to go out, I promise. We are going to escape from here, with a nice woman named Sam."

"We are leaving? I will be able to go out in the place where we are going?" Nia had always been a good talker. She always knew what words to use. She wasn't like most five year olds.

"Yes, but we must get ready. We have to go soon because Sam is sick and getting weaker. Now go and get some things into a sack so that you are ready to run when the time comes."

"Yes mother." Nia smiled her bright smile and trotted away to pick up her things. Faera smiled at her and started getting ready herself.

* * *

Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c rolled out of the Stargate, ready for action. Immediately, staff blasts erupted all around them. They shot back, guns rattling. They sprinted for a thick forest off to their right.

Only a few jaffa followed them, the rest stayed to protect the Stargate from further attack. Jack and the team ran through the trees, swerving to lose the jaffa that were on their trail. Shots burned the trees near SG-1, leaving smoking holes and streaks. SG-1 turned back to return fire. They heard the anguished cries of fallen jaffa and were relieved. Shrapnel from the trees sliced their faces as branches were blown apart by staff weapons. Daniel had lost his glasses and was slowing down because he was stumbling over roots. Teal'c grabbed his arm and hauled him along, guiding him through the trees.

They had been running for a long time when they realized that they weren't being followed anymore. They stopped, gasping for breath. There was no sound except for their harsh pants. When they were sure that the jaffa were truly gone, they headed back the way they came.


	5. Faera, Meet O'Neill

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took so long guys! I was at the beach and then the website wouldn't let me upload it, etc, etc. But I finally got it up! Enjoy! (And again, I'm sorry about how long it took!)

* * *

Sam hadn't slept long before she heard the creaking of her cell door opening. Her eyes opened, revealing the blurry image of the same two jaffa. She tensed and readied herself as much as she could in her current condition. They grabbed her arms and dragged her out of the cell.

She fought to get her legs under her, to walk of her own accord, but failed. She was too weak. She hated that feeling. She knew if the jaffa would let her rest she would regain her strength. They didn't want that though, they needed her to stay weak so that she would answer their questions. She wouldn't though. She vowed to herself that she wouldn't tell them anything, no matter how bad she felt.

Before she knew it, they were in the throne room again. Apophis was still in the chair, only this time he was holding a long knife. Not quite long enough to be a sword, but not short either. A dagger of sorts. To her dismay, she winced at the thought of the point slicing through her skin, cutting through muscle and sinew like butter. She struggled to put a disinterested look on her face.

The jaffa pushed her to her knees, it really wasn't that hard at this point, and made her bow her head to Apophis. He spoke. "I grow tired of your defiance, Samantha Carter. You should have answered my questions." He stood and walked down the steps to stand in front of her.

"I won't tell you anything!" she shouted, forcing her head up to face him. "Not for anything! I'll die before I betray my people!"

Apophis smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that." The dagger swung down toward her.

* * *

Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel moved through the woods until they could see the palace. Jack whistled quietly. "That place is huge!" he whispered incredulously. "They could be holding Carter anywhere!"

The team was crouched behind a clump of bushes about five hundred feet from the front of the palace. As they watched, a female servant appeared out of what seemed to be a wall, and ran into the woods. She ran right past their position, eyes darting back to the palace every few seconds.

O'Neill looked around for guards before starting to follow her. "Jack? What are you doing?!" It was Daniel, of course.

"Getting information!" he hissed back, continuing through the trees. Daniel sighed, gestured to Teal'c, and followed Jack into the trees.

* * *

Sam screamed as a white hot pain shot through her arm. Her shirt sleeve was wet with blood. She clutched the top of her arm tightly, trying to cut off the blood supply to the cut, and failed.

It was a deep cut. She didn't have to look to tell, she could feel it. It was long too. It would definitely need stitches if…_when_ she got home.

Apophis leered at her. "Tau'ri are so fragile, so easy to break." She gestured for him to lean closer. He did, eagerly. She through her head forward with all her might and saw stars as her head crashed into his.

Sam swayed on her knees as Apophis cried out in pain and surprise. _After this I won't be able to defy him._ She thought dizzily. The room was growing gray around the edges. No! She had to stay awake! Faera and her daughter are waiting for you!

Apophis was even angrier now than he had been before. The Tau'ri woman had injured his nose! He raised the knife again. "Now that you've gotten a taste of pain, you might be more willing to tell me what I need to know! What is the code that breaks the barrier that protects the Tau'ri Stargate?"

Sam spat at him, viciously. "You already know my answer," she hissed through teeth clenched against pain.

Apophis turned away from her angrily. The knife was hanging at his side, red with her blood. The jaffa closest to her injury pressed the wound while the other jaffa held her hands behind her back.

Her teeth snapped shut with an audible _click_, as she bit back a whimper. The jaffa pressed harder. She opened her mouth and he let up a bit, thinking she was going to give up the numbers. "Major Samantha Carter. Serial num—Ah!"

When the jaffa realized that she wasn't going to give up any information, he squeezed her injury viciously, digging his fingers into it. This time, Sam couldn't hold back a scream of pain. The high, feminine sound ricocheted off of the golden walls. Filling the room with the almost unbearable sound.

Sam kept screaming until Apophis signaled for the jaffa to release her arm. Her breath came out in tortured gasps. "What is the code that breaks the barrier that protects the Tau'ri Stargate?!" he demanded, his back still turned.

Sam remained silent. She couldn't tell him anything. She glared, angry and afraid of the pain that she knew would come if she denied him the answer to his question.

Apophis turned around, eyes glowing. "Pour the tek'ma'kel into her wound." The jaffa nodded and pulled a small vial out of a pouch on his belt. The liquid inside was clear and orange.

Sam found herself stiffening as the jaffa opened the vial and moved it closer to her wound. He only put two drops of the liquid onto her laceration, but it was enough.

Pain like she'd never felt before started in her arm and seemed to radiate throughout her entire body. She writhed and cried out. No longer aware of anything going on around her.

Apophis smiled at the sound of his enemy's cries. "That should loosen her tongue. Take her away." The jaffa nodded and they picked up the squirming major and carried her back to her cell.

* * *

The slave obviously knew the woods well. She was following a vague path that Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel hadn't realized was there.

She was moving quickly and the team had to hurry to keep up. On O'Neill's order, Teal'c moved quietly to overtake her.

The girl yelped and started running at the sight of the big jaffa. She was stopped by the colonel, and when she tried the other direction she was stopped by Daniel.

"What do you want?"she asked shakily. "Are you going to reveal me to the god Apophis?"

Teal'c shook his head. "No. We are here to rescue a woman who we think is being held prisoner here."

O'Neill shot a look at Teal'c. "Well, why don't you tell her where we're from and how we plan to rescue her?!" he said sarcastically.

"You are the shol'va! Teal'c!" the woman exclaimed.

"Looks like she's heard of you, T," Jack said.

"Everyone in service to Apophis knows about the shol'va Teal'c. The price on your head is high. The person who captures you and brings you to Apophis will be well rewarded." Teal'c glowered at her. "Not that I will turn you in. You are not of this planet. Are you the men Sam talks about in her sleep? " the woman asked.

"Who does she talk about?" O'Neill asked, grimacing. He knew Carter talked in her sleep, and that could be dangerous.

"Teal'c, someone named Daniel, and someone named Jack," the woman answered, her lips twisting as she pronounced the strange names.

Teal'c and Daniel didn't comment on Sam's apparent use of the colonel's first name. Jack's brow furrowed, they must have been going really hard on her. He would kill them.

"Who are you?" Daniel asked curiously.

"My name is Faera. I am a servant of the god Apophis. I look after some of the prisoners, including Sam."

The team exchanged a look. "How's she doing? Carter, I mean." Jack was eager to know.

Faera looked down. "They are torturing her terribly. She won't last much longer. The god Apophis will do anything to get the information she carries. I fear that she might not last much longer in the prison."

Jack closed his eyes. "What have they been doing to her? Do you know?"

Faera nodded. "She is very stubborn. First Apophis tried to use the beam that comes out of his hand. It causes great pain," she added. "Then he made her remember things, bad things. After that, he used the fire-brand. And lastly, he used a knife to cut her arm and poured tek'ma'kel into her wound."

Daniel's face paled. "Tek'ma'kel…that means…um…let me see… elixir of pain. I think."

Jack looked livid. "So tel'mek…whatever! Causes pain? How much pain? For how long?"

Faera fidgeted. "It causes great pain throughout the body." She stopped.

"For how long," the colonel growled. His voice was dangerously quiet.

Faera looked at him. "The pain will not stop until she receives the cure."

The team's faces dropped simultaneously, they would have to rescue Sam while she was in that condition. They didn't have time to wait.


	6. Pain and Worry

**Author's Note:** I'm SO SO SO SO SO SORRY!! I know that it's been like FOREVER! I had this insane writer's block (writer's block sucks, btw) I hope you like it!

* * *

Sam wasn't at all sure what was going on around her. All she knew was that she couldn't tell anyone anything. She pressed her lips shut and turned her head away from the voice.

"Sam, you must drink this! You will get sick if you don't!" Sam recognized Faera's voice and turned toward her, opening her mouth.

A cool sweet liquid slid down her throat, clearing her head and bringing her into full consciousness. She quickly gulped it down. When the cup moved away from her face, she moaned and opened her mouth for more.

"I'm sorry Sam, but you can only have a little at a time. I wouldn't give you this, but you need to be ready for escape."

Faera sounded apologetic, and Sam just realized why.

The searing pain had returned to her arm. She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. All that escaped was a muffled cry. Tears filled her eyes as she struggled to swallow past the lump in her throat.

"What did they do to me?" she asked weakly. Her eyes were pinched shut against the pain.

"Apophis used the tek'ma'kel on you. It causes severe pain when dropped into a cut."  
Faera looked even more worried than before. Sam's face had paled with the strain of keeping silent. She was starting to doubt the colonel's decision to awaken her. She wouldn't be able to keep quiet for long.

"Why did you wake me if you knew that it was going to cause me pain?" Sam asked, her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Because Jack told me to get you ready," she explained, she said this like it made perfect sense.

Sam's heart leapt. The colonel was coming for her! She couldn't believe it. "The colonel is coming?" she whispered hopefully.

Faera nodded and smiled. "Yes. He told me that he had a plan to rescue you. All we have to do is get out of the palace. We have to do it before Apophis's jaffa come for you again."

Sam nodded. "Of course." She tried to sit up. She managed to use the wall to push herself into sitting position. She was panting from the effort. She hated feeling so weak.

"Don't strain yourself, Sam. You need to save your strength. We will be leaving tonight." Sam nodded and laid back down, sighing and wincing as the pain shot through her again.

Sam didn't remember falling asleep, but she knew she must have because she woke to the sound of someone opening her cell door. Her eyes flashed opened and she struggled to sit up, to make herself less vulnerable.

Then she realized who it was. "Carter!" The fierce whisper sounded very familiar to her.

"Sir?" she asked weakly. "Is that you?" She squinted through her pain. The pain seemed to radiate from an area on her arm. "Ah!" She couldn't keep the cry from escaping her locked lips.

"Carter?! Is Faera in there?" O'Neill sounded desperate. Sam shook her head. "Well crap! We need the keys to the cell!"

Sam felt her strength beginning to leave her. She slid a little down the wall, struggling against her weakness.

"Carter? Carter! Stay with us! Don't you DARE give up on us now!" The colonel sounded angry.

"I won't sir," she whispered. She fought to keep her head up, even as her body slid down the wall.

"Look at me Carter. Stay awake."

"I will sir." She was so tired.

"Then why are your eyes closed Carter?" He sounded amused but worried, very worried. "Teal'c, can you get us in there?" Sam heard the rumble of Teal'c's voice but couldn't understand what he was saying.

It felt like someone had stuffed cotton in her ears, like she was detached from the world. Even her pain was distant. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew this was a bad thing. She knew that she had to stay awake but she was so tired. A short nap wouldn't hurt…

* * *

**End Note: I hope you liked it! More coming! Don't worry! I REFUSE to give up on this one!! (BTW, I would really appreciate some more reviews! Good and bad!)**

Jack stared through the cell bars at Sam. He was losing her. Daniel stood beside him. "She might not make it Jack."

O'Neill turned on him. "She'll make it! She'll be fine." Maybe if he kept thinking that, then he would begin to believe it. "She's the toughest woman I know. The toughest _person_ I know."

Daniel nodded. He didn't want to think about what would happen to Jack if Sam _didn't_ make it. He stared at Sam through the bars. She wasn't even sitting anymore, her body was lying limply on the stone bench. Her eyes were beginning to close. She was losing her fight.

Teal'c and Jack pulled with all their strength on the bars. They had just stopped when Faera

came running. "Don't worry! I have the keys!" she said quietly. Teal'c and Jack hurried to get out of her way.

They looked curiously at the child following her, clutching her skirts. She peered at them shyly before hiding her face again.

She unlocked the door and Jack pushed past her into the cell. "Carter." He slapped her cheeks gently. "Carter! Wake up!" Her eyes fluttered. He grabbed her jaw and shook her head. "Carter!"

Her eyes flashed open and her hand shot up and hit him in the nose, hard. Then she realized who it was. Her hand went to her mouth. "Oh! Sir, I'm sorry!" Her voice was so weak.

"No big deal, Carter. I'll be fine. What's important now is that we get you out of here as soon as possible." He held his nose to stop the bleeding. What had they done to her to make her react so violently?

He walked to the door. "Umm, Sir?"

He turned around, "Yes Carter?"

She looked at him with an odd look in her eyes, "I can't, ummm…" She trailed off.

His heart froze, he knew exactly what she was saying. He walked back to her and hauled her up. He wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

He was taking most of her weight and she was heavy! He wouldn't have thought that Carter's 5'9", slim body could weigh so much!

Though she was barely taking any of her weight, Carter was panting heavily. He suspected that part of it was because of the pain that he was sure she was in. Her right hand clenched his right shoulder, tightening to an almost painful point.

* * *

Sam didn't think that she could be in any more pain than she had already been in. She was wrong. The pain had intensified when she stood. Her legs screamed in agony from days of being cramped in the same position, her head spun sickeningly, her arm burned more than ever as her steps jostled it.

She couldn't let the colonel know how much pain she was in. She couldn't look weak in his eyes, the eyes of her team. She tried to push the pain out of her head and concentrated on taking one step at a time.

After a few agonizing minutes, they made it to the cell door. "O'Neill!" They heard a harsh whisper from outside the cell. "You must hurry! There are several jaffa headed in our direction!"

They exited the cell quickly and stood for a second to let Sam catch her breath. Her eyes were heavy and all she wanted to do was see Janet Fraiser holding an syringe pull of morphine. She heard the rest of the team making plans and didn't try to jump in. She felt Jack shift her and suddenly her feet weren't on the ground.

Her eyes sprung opened, though she wasn't aware of ever closing them. Teal'c was staring down at her. "Sorry Carter, but we don't have a lot of time." Jack looked at her apologetically.

Carter nodded, glad that she didn't have to walk to the Stargate. She rested her head on Teal'c's shoulder and closed her eyes.

* * *

Jack watched Teal'c worriedly as they ran swiftly out of the palace. Faera led the way, keeping them away from guarded areas and dead ends. The little girl still clung to her, though now she was in the servant's arms.

Carter was dead to the world. She hadn't stirred since they left the cell and now she hung limply in Teal'c's arms. Jack wished he was strong enough to be the one holding her, he would give anything for it.

They left the palace and made it to the woods. Once they were far from any guards, they stopped to rest.

Teal'c set Carter down on the side of the animal trail, where leaves accumulated. Daniel immediately walked over and check her vital signs, heartbeat, temperature, and eyes. He had experience with field medicine, they all did.

"She all right?" Jack asked when he stepped away from her.

"She's in pain, I can't tell how much, but I'm guessing a lot." Daniel rummaged through a small bag that he had hidden in one of his many pockets.

He pulled out a bottle of Tylenol and shook out two pills. He turned, pills in hand, and got a bottle of water. Then he went over to Sam and shook her lightly.

"Sam? Sam, you need to wake up." Her eyes fluttered. "Sam, c'mon major!" He turned to Jack. "You try."

Jack nodded and moved over to Carter, he hated to do this, but knew that it would wake her up quickly, and they didn't have time to waste. "Major, CARTER!" he said loudly and sarcastically into her ear.

Her eyes flew open, she gasped, and looked around confusedly. "Sir?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

Daniel walked over. "Thanks, Jack. Hey Sam, how're you feeling?" he asked gently.

Her eyes glazed over and focused again as she thought about it. "I'm…not good," she admitted.

Jack paled, it must be bad, Sam would never admit that if it was less than horrible. Daniel nodded slowly and held out the pills. "I'm not sure if it will help, but I want you to take these. You just have to hold out until we get to the 'gate."

Sam nodded and took the pills. She grimaced at the taste and Daniel patted her hand before moving back over to the rest of the team.

* * *


	7. Escape!

The team didn't rest very long. When they were ready to get going again, Teal'c lifted Major Carter, careful not to wake her up, and they kept walking.

They traveled through the woods until they could see the Stargate. It was even more heavily guarded than before, jaffa were everywhere.

Teal'c's blood boiled at the sight of all of these jaffa in the service of a false god. He turned to Colonel O'Neill. "O'Neill, we are outnumbered. I do not believe that we will be able to make it to the Stargate without considerable loss."

The colonel snorted quietly. "Ya think?" He shook his head. "Just our luck." He glanced at Carter before swiftly returning his attention to wary jaffa.

Teal'c looked at Daniel, who was on his other side with Faera and her child. Daniel looked thoughtful. "What is it Daniel Jackson?"

He shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing, just…well, I have no idea how we're going to get out of this one! It seems impossible, but somehow, I know we will."

Teal'c nodded his head in agreement. "I believe you are correct Daniel Jackson, but it must be carefully planned and executed."

Daniel nodded, still thoughtful. "You know… if we could just distract them for a few minutes, at least make some of them leave, we might be able to succeed."

Teal'c was surprised, though he did not show it on his face, usually Daniel did not think tactically. Teal'c nodded slowly. "O'Neill, Daniel Jackson has thought of a possible solution to our predicament."

The colonel glanced over at Daniel. "Well, I'm open to suggestions. What is it?"

Daniel eagerly told him the plan, arms waving and pointing in excitement. At first, the colonel looked wary, Daniel wasn't one for tactical plans. Then as the plan spun out, the colonel looked more impressed.

When Daniel had finished, Jack was won over. He nodded, "I'll circle around and approach from the other side, drawing the jaffa into the woods. You, Teal'c and Faera run for the gate when the jaffa are far enough."

"I will come with you, O'Neill." Teal'c knew that the colonel was prone to heroics and they needed him to stay alive in order to escape.

For once, Colonel O'Neill didn't resist, instead, he nodded. "Okay, I could use the extra firepower." Teal'c's mouth twitched.

"Daniel, take a zat at least. Hopefully you won't need it though." Daniel nodded and pulled one out of the bag.

Jack and Teal'c both grabbed extra weapons and prepared to leave. "This is pretty risky, are you sure you want to come, Teal'c?"

Teal'c did that thing with his eyebrow.

"Okay, just letting you know that you have a choice."

"As do you, O'Neill."

"Yeah, I guess," he said, except he knew he didn't, he glanced at Carter, he never had.

Teal'c nodded, he wasn't a dull man, he saw through O'Neill's façade. He didn't say anything though, he just agreed and continued preparing for the fight.

When they were done, they tip toed back up to the others. "We're going, wait for the signal to move."

Daniel nodded and they left. "Wait, what's the signal?!" But the colonel was already gone. "Great," he sighed.

Jack and Teal'c ghosted around to the other side of the Stargate, careful not to make any noise. They were in position. "Kay…NOW!"

Teal'c and Jack jumped up and started firing at the jaffa. They took out three in their first few shots. The other jaffa reacted quickly though, and started firing at them.

Staff weapon shots blazed through the trees, filling the air with the scent of burning wood and leaves. The colonel took cover, Teal'c was right beside him.

Daniel watched as all of the jaffa ran to the other side of the Stargate and started firing upon the woods. Within ten minutes, the two team members had taken out almost half of the jaffa. They had the advantage in the trees.

Once three fourths of the jaffa had been taken out, Daniel and Faera ran out of the trees to the Stargate. Daniel fired upon jaffa from behind, killing them with two shots of the zat he was holding.

Daniel made it to the DHD and dialed the Earth address. The Stargate turned, chevrons lighting up one by one. The back of Daniel's neck prickled and he whipped around, zatting the jaffa who had snuck up behind him.

"C'mon!" he yelled to Faera, gesturing for her to go through the Stargate. She darted up the steps and through the shimmering puddle. Nia was tight on her tail, still holding the back of her dress. They disappeared.

Daniel hesitated, shifting Major Carter's prone form into a more comfortable position on his shoulders. He turned away from the Stargate, waiting until he saw Jack and Teal'c running toward him before going through.

The wormhole swallowed them, pulling them apart and transporting them over thousands of light-years before putting them back together. Daniel stepped out of the wormhole into the SGC.

"Dr. Jackson! What happened?!" General Hammond strode up the ramp.

"I'll explain later! I promise, but right now we need a medical team!" He set Major Carter down gently on the ramp, cushioning her head with his jacket.

Jack and Teal'c leapt through the Stargate in time to see the medical team rush onto the ramp. Jack's face looked shocked, Teal'c's looked…well, like he always did, but a little more concerned.

Sam's eyes fluttered opened. It was blurry, she could see people rushing all around her. She tried to talk but her mouth wouldn't move. Nor would the rest of her body.

She was on a stretcher, the bumpy movements caused her surroundings to jolt and made her head spin. She closed her eyes but it didn't help much.

She could hear Dr. Fraiser talking, but her voice was distant and she couldn't make out any of the words. It wasn't long before the darkness stole her again and everything faded to black.


	8. Back at the SGC, Well, Kinda

**Author Note: Omigosh guys! I am SO SORRY!! Life kinda caught up with me and before I knew it a few weeks had gone by and I was like Oh Crap!! So here is the product of my hurried writing! Hope you like it! (please like it! And review, review, review!!)**

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Sam's eyes fluttered open. Everything around her was fuzzy, she couldn't make out anything. From the sounds, she could tell she was in the infirmary. She blinked hard.

Her vision cleared a bit. Janet Frasier was hovering over her. "Sam? How are you feeling?"

Sam took inventory, mentally checking herself. "I'm not sure… I _feel _okay. How long have I been here?"

Janet's brow furrowed. "Sam, you've been unconscious for five days." She started bustling around, checking Sam's IV and her vitals.

"Five days!" Sam struggled to sit up. "I have to get back to work!"

Janet pushed her back down. "Sam, you've been completely out. You haven't moved and for the first day you didn't even breath on your own! After you came through the 'gate, it was like you let go, or couldn't hold on anymore. You died, for a few seconds anyway, we were so worried." Janet glanced at her curiously, "Especially the colonel. He didn't leave the infirmary for three days. Not even to change clothes."

Sam's eyes widened. She was beyond words. The colonel hadn't left the infirmary? Why?

"What happened to you? All the colonel knew was that you had been tortured and the servant girl wouldn't say anything, hasn't since you guys came through the Stargate."

Sam looked down at her hospital blanket. "It's all kinda fuzzy. After they took me to the throne room for the first time, the most I remember is pain and darkness.

"I know they tortured me, pretty badly too. I'm not sure what they did to me though." Sam's eyes filled with tears and she brushed them away angrily.

Janet sat on Sam's hospital bed, careful not to upset any of her wires. "Are you okay Sam? After all that, I mean, from what I saw when you came back, it was awful. It almost killed you, it _did _kill you! I have to make sure that your okay."

"Janet, I have to go back to work. I've already missed too much," Sam pleaded.

Janet was shaking her head before Sam even finished her sentence. "I'm sorry Sam, but I have to keep you in the infirmary until I know how this is going to affect you."

Sam flopped back onto her pillow with a defeated expression on her face. "How long Janet?" she asked warily.

Janet made a face. "I'm not sure. Just until we know that there aren't any repercussions." Sam looked down. "Look, if you don't have any symptoms for a week, then maybe you can go back to working in your lab." Seeing Sam's excited expression, Janet added hastily, "But only light work and you'll need to stay on base overnight."

Sam's face dropped a little, but at least she got that much. Knowing Janet, she could have been stuck in the infirmary the entire time. "Okay," she sighed. "That's better than nothing I guess…" She trailed off, suddenly tired.

Seeing Sam's exhaustion, Janet said that she would be in her office if she needed anything and left.

Once Janet was out of sight, Sam let her eyes fluttered closed and she drifted off into a restful sleep.

* * *

Several days passed without incident. SG-12 came in from a mission, all bruised in beaten, but nothing else interesting happened. In fact, Sam was bored out of her mind. The colonel and the rest of SG-1 had come in to try to entertain her, but Janet wouldn't let them stay for long.

Even though Sam insisted that she was fine, keeping true to her word, Janet didn't let her out until the week was up.

"Okay Sam, use your freedom wisely, and I want you back in here at nine. Absolutely no staying up late." Sam opened her mouth to protest, but Janet beat her to it. "I want you to sleep in here so that I can keep an eye on you. You still haven't recovered completely."

Sam nodded reluctantly, "Alright Janet, but just for a few nights." Janet frowned. "I'll still stay on base, I promise."

Once Janet promised, Sam was out of there quicker than a bullet. She was in her office in five minutes flat, and at her computer in six. Finally, she could work.

Sam worked without stopping until Jack and Teal'c came by. "Hey, Carter! We heard you were out of the infirmary! You wanna go to somthin'? Like bowling?"

Sam looked up, smiling. "Janet restricted me to the base, I can't leave or anything."

Jack's face dropped a little, but he soon brightened up. "Well, we could go down to the commissary! Hey! Maybe they'll have cake!"

Sam spent the afternoon in the commissary, catching up on the current events on the base. She hadn't missed much, just a run-in with a minor Goa'uld that had resulted in a member of SG-13 breaking an arm.

It had felt good for her to smile and laugh along with the rest of her team. It felt like something was healing.

When Sam entered the infirmary at nine sharp, a broad grin had spread over her face. Janet was shocked, Sam was absolutely glowing with happiness.

To Janet's surprise, she changed into her pajama's and got into a hospital bed without complaint and, to Sam's surprise, was soon asleep. It wasn't restful though.

Hideous figures marred her dreams. Terrifying images were forced upon her. There was terrible pain that lanced through her body like a knife. She was woken by her own screams, shrieks of terror.

Sam's eyes flew opened just in time to see Janet running out of her office, a slightly panicked look on her face.

"Sam?! Are you alright? What happened?" Janet's cool hand moved to her forehead.

Sam was beyond words, able only to shake her head. She remembered, she remembered everything. It overwhelmed her, so it took her a minute to notice Janet still hovering over her like a concerned parent.

"Sam?" she asked, brow furrowed in confusion and concern. "What's wrong?"

"I-I remember what they did to me. Janet I remember everything.

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**A/N: Like I said, sorry! And please review! I really want to hear what you have to say! Suggestions, comments, likes dislikes! Thanks!! (P.S. Reviews encourage me to write faster because I feel appreciated!!) 3 Jemma!  
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	9. Nightmares and Pain

Janet's face froze, only her eyes widened. "Maybe now we can pinpoint exactly what might have long term effects!" Janet enthused. Then she saw Sam's face. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry Sam. I'm sure you'd rather forget, but this will help you get out of here so much faster." Sam nodded hesitantly.

Janet looked at her closely. "Do you feel like telling me what happened?" The doctor could see exactly when Sam toughened. She put on her "Soldier Sam" face, bottling up all her feelings.

"They dragged me into a throne room every time Apophis was ready to torture me more. First, they used a Goa'uld hand device. Next, they used a Tok'ra memory device to try and get the code to open the iris." When Sam said this, her expression altered a little, but it was so swift that only someone who knew Sam well would be able to catch it. "Then, they used a firebrand. After that, Apophis stabbed my arm with a dagger. Next, he got one of the jaffa to dig his fingers into the wound. Then, Apophis poured a sort of poison into my wound to make it extraordinarily painful. That was the last thing that they did to me." Sam sounded distantly thoughtful as she was explaining this.

Janet Fraiser didn't move or blink for a whole minute. She was astonished. How could someone survive all that? Then again, Jack had survived Baal, so she knew it wasn't impossible. But Sam had been poisoned and hadn't been put in a sarcophagus or given the antidote.

Sam's brow furrowed. "Janet? Hello?" She waved a hand in front of the doctor's face.

Janet blinked and came back to life. "Sam, I…." She looked at Sam sympathetically. "You don't remember anything after that?"

Sam tilted her head to the side, thinking. "I remember being in a lot of pain, and the colonel coming and bringing me out of the cell…" She thought harder. "That's it besides random sounds and darkness." She looked at Janet. "You said I was okay."

"You seem to be…. But know that I don't know." Seeing the look on Sam's face, Janet hurried to continue. "Now that I know what they did to you, and that you got no antidote…. Sam, I can't be sure."

Sam sighed. "But wouldn't something have happened by now? I mean, I haven't collapsed or…" She hesitated, "felt bad."

Janet gave her a 'look'. Only someone who hadn't known Sam for years would fall for that. She was hiding something. "Sam, you need to tell me everything if you want to get out of here as soon as possible," Janet said encouragingly.

Sam fiddled with her hospital blanket. "It was…while I was having the dream. It felt like a dart of pain down my body." Sam looked up at the doctor. "It hurt, Janet, bad. What's wrong with me?"

Dr. Fraiser's brow furrowed. She hated to admit it but… "I don't know Sam. We ran tests while you were unconscious. Every test imaginable! There isn't anything wrong with you that we know of. You seem to be perfectly healthy!"

Sam nodded slowly and bit her lip. "Okay Janet. I'm really tired, maybe I should go back to sleep…" She trailed off and Janet took the hint.

"Okay Sam. But I'm going to stay close in case it happens again." Sam scooted further down into the bed and nodded, closing her eyes. Janet patted her leg softly and tiptoed back to her office.

She spent the rest of the night looking at Sam's test results. She was flummoxed by this new problem. It was like, just when Sam seemed to be getting better, something bad happened!

She shook her head in disbelief. None of the test results had indicated that anything was wrong. She tilted her head, it could have just been a very vivid dream she supposed, but that was stretching it. She guessed she would just have to wait and see. Time would tell what was wrong with her.

Janet woke up in her office, cheek pressed against the manila folder that contained the useless test results. She looked at her watch. It was 0900! She must have fallen asleep, though she didn't remember doing so. She jumped out of her chair, stretched out all of her kinks, and walked swiftly out and into the infirmary.

Sam wasn't there. Janet, slightly panicked, ran to the commissary before realizing that Sam was probably in her lab working. Just to be sure, Janet went by the lab and, sure enough, there she was, hunched over a computer, a cup of coffee at her elbow.

"Hey Sam," Janet said lightly. Sam whipped around and the coffee went flying.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, quickly getting napkins and attempting to wipe up the mess.

Janet smiled and came over to help her. "I didn't mean to surprise you, but I didn't see you in the infirmary this morning. I was worried so I came to find you."

Sam straightened up and looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "How worried were you? Really?" she asked, looking at her closely.

Janet smiled sheepishly. "Alright, I almost had a heart attack just from picturing what might have happened to you to make you disappear from the bed."

Sam frowned. "I didn't mean to worry you, but I woke up early and decided to get some work done, hence…" She gestured around her at the computer and papers and gadgets.

"It's alright," Janet replied. "I probably overreacted anyway. I mean, where did I expect you to be this early in the morning."

Sam smiled and bent back down to the floor. Halfway through the motion, she stopped and her smile froze then faltered. Her hand flew up to her head.

Janet's eyes widened. "Sam? Sam!? What's wrong?!" She moved over to help her friend, but by the time she reached Sam's side Sam was already down on the floor wiping up the rest of the spilled coffee.

She straightened up and cheerfully said, "Oh well! No use crying over spilled coffee!" She smiled at Janet, who peered at her closely. There was a forced sense to her cheerfulness and her eyes looked strained.

Janet smiled back and agreed with her, but she couldn't shake the sense that there was something going on with Sam that she didn't know about. She didn't let on to Sam. "Well, I'll leave you to it," Janet said, moving towards the door.

Just as she was about to leave, she turned around and said, "Oh, and don't forget to come back to the infirmary at 2100, sharp."

Sam nodded. "I won't forget," she assured her, and turned back to her work. Janet nodded and left the lab with even more questions than before.

Instead of sitting and pondering Sam's case like she wanted to, Janet was forced to go through the motions of working. She changed bandages here, set a broken limb there, administered a shot, gave out medicine (mainly Tylenol), but her mind was preoccupied. The nurses could tell and so they did a lot of it, only getting Fraiser for the things that couldn't be done without a doctor.

Janet knew that she was neglecting her duties and that she needed to snap out of it, but she couldn't. They just kept popping back into her head. Images of Sam screaming and writhing in the bed, Sam frozen in her lab, trying so hard not to let her friend know that she was in pain. Janet just had to find some way to help her. But how?

After she almost gave the wrong injection to the wrong patient, Dr. Fraiser decided to let the nurses take over and retreated to her office.

She stayed there for the rest of the day, scouring Sam's tests for anything out of the ordinary, the littlest thing could be important here.

Sam spent the day in her lab. She didn't get much work done, distracted by a question that kept haunting her. Why did it hurt when she'd bent down that morning? Only that once? Although she'd tried to hide it from Janet, she knew that the doctor was suspicious.

The pain had been bad. It had shot through her body, just like the one this morning. It had forced Sam to stop in her tracks and….

Sam whirled around in her chair. The colonel was standing in the doorway. "Hey Carter! What'cha doin'?" he asked, moseying into the room.

She smiled wanly. "Work. I'm studying some tests that were done on the…"

"Ach! I don't wanna know!" he exclaimed, putting his hands up and backing away. "Have you eaten anything today?" he asked suspiciously, putting his hands down and standing in the doorway.

Sam grinned. "I had two cups of coffee," she said, gesturing to the empty mugs beside her.

Jack shook his head. "Doesn't count! Come on to the commissary, I'm meeting Daniel and Teal'c there." Sam opened her mouth to turn the invitation down but Jack jumped in. "Do I have to make that an order, Major Carter?"

Sam sighed and looked down at her computer and back up and her commanding officer. "Well…I guess I could come for a little while," she said reluctantly.

Jack smirked at her reluctance to leave her work. "Well come on then! The faster you come, the faster you can get back to your doohickies!" he called as he walked out of her lab. Sam jumped off her stool and ran to catch up with him. It felt good to be a part of her team again, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.


	10. Time With Friends

It felt good for Sam to be hanging out SG-1 again. Jack had been so worried about her for the past few weeks. It was a relief to see her laughing and eating her blue Jell-O. He looked at his own red Jell-O contentedly.

"So, Sam, when are you free to go off-base?" Jack asked casually.

Sam's face dropped and he immediately regretted asking the question.

"I'm not sure," she said quietly. There was an awkward silence.

Surprisingly, Teal'c broke it by saying, "I believe Daniel Jackson has a question to ask you."

Daniel blushed and shot Teal'c a look. "Well, I wasn't going to ask you until later, but since Teal'c already brought it up….Well, um, I was just wondering if, while you were there, you saw any other Goa'ulds besides Apophis?" He looked down.

Jack studied Sam as she thought about the question. Suddenly, he realized what had been bothering him all morning. She was closed off. She might have been laughing and joking with the rest of the team, but her eyes were guarded, exposing no emotion. Her happiness was forced. Jack looked at her, trying to figure out what was going on with her.

Finally, Sam answered the question bringing Jack back to the present. "I saw Klorel, but no one else," she said, staring down at her napkin.

It felt like a fist squeezed Jack's heart. Skaara. He would never forgive himself for letting him get caught and turned into a Goa'uld. He would never forget that feeling when he came back to the Stargate on Abydos and found out about the kidnapped. Skaara and Sha're.

The sound of an argument snapped Jack out of his reverie. He looked up to see Sam staring at him. She radiated concern and…something else, something that she covered quickly when she realized that he was watching. Pain or fear, or both. Jack was astonished by his new discovery but, for Sam's sake, covered up his emotion, something he was much better at than Sam.

He smiled and turned his attention to the friendly bantering that was going on between Daniel and Teal'c.

The argument seemed to be about movies. Daniel, as per usual, seemed to be insisting that Indiana Jones was better than Luke Skywalker, whom Teal'c was defending rather tenaciously. Neither would give up.

Sam jumped onto the battlefield. "But Luke has that lightsaber right? That gives him the advantage in a fight." Daniel smiled in appreciation.

"Does not Indiana Jones have a gun?" Teal'c shot back.

Jack jumped in. "Yeah! And a whip! That gives him an advantage too!" He nodded at Teal'c. "You're welcome." Teal'c nodded and turned back to the two scientists.

Daniel was fuming. "But Luke can also use the force! He has all this help on his side! Indiana Jones wins by being clever and," Daniel raised his eyebrows at Jack, "knowing about ancient civilizations."

Jack snorted. "Oh yeah! 'Cause great fighting skills had nothing to do with it!" he said sarcastically.

"Hah!" Daniel exclaimed, jumping up and pointing at Jack triumphantly.

Jack just looked confused. "What? What are you talking about?" he asked, brow furrowed.

Daniel laughed. "I got you to admit that Indiana Jones has great fighting skills!" Sam put her hand up and they high fived.

Jack snorted and shoved a chunk of wobbling Jell-O into his mouth, pretending to be insulted by the suggestion.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Luke Skywalker had to go through many months of training before being able to fight like he did."

Sam's brow furrowed. "Indiana Jones didn't have any training though. At least, I don't think he did." She looked at Daniel for support.

He nodded, "She's right. Indiana Jones had to learn on his own, through experience. Proving that he is, indeed, better than Luke Skywalker."

Teal'c's eyebrow raised even higher, if possible. He opened his mouth to say something when a sound distracted him.

Apparently the others didn't hear it, but someone whimpered quietly. It was right on the edge of earshot, the din in the commissary was so loud. He was sitting right beside the source though. Beside him, Major Carter was staring into space, an odd look on her face.

Suddenly, she unfroze and turned to Teal'c. She knew he had heard her slip and her eyes pleaded him not to tell Jack and the rest of the team.

Teal'c nodded and turned back the conversation. It didn't seem to be going anywhere. Daniel was getting ready to get back to his office, accusing Jack of trying to avoid his mission reports. The colonel was disagreeing, but obviously getting ready to, grudgingly, write them.

At his side, Sam also got up and gathered her food. "See you guys later." She walked away.

Teal'c was unsure of his decision not to tell the colonel of what he had heard, but it wasn't his choice to make. Major Carter would have to make that decision herself.

"Hey Teal'c, want to go to the weight room to spar?" Jack asked hopefully.

Inside, Teal'c was smiling at his friend's desperate attempts to avoid the paper work that came with his job. "I'm sorry O'Neill, but I agreed to help Daniel Jackson translate writing on some artifacts that he discovered."

Jack frowned. "Daniel," he growled menacingly. "That no good son of a--! He put you up to this." Jack sighed. "I guess I'll go write my reports, now that I have nothing to do." He threw Teal'c a disgusted look before walking out of the commissary.

Teal'c looked after him, with eyebrow raised, before following the colonel out and heading toward Daniel's office.

Sam arrived at her office feeling strangely tired. She brought her computer screen to life and checked the time. Four o'clock already! She had spent two hours in the commissary with her friends! It hadn't seemed like two hours.

She sighed and sat down on her stool. Her head plopped down in her hand. God, she was _so_ tired. She struggled to keep her eyes open and doing her work.

Though she tried to do her work, she couldn't. She was trying to go over some scans taken by SG-5, but her eyes kept blurring and losing focus. She shook her head and squinted at the screen.

After ten minutes it was worse and she was getting a headache. So Sam decided to go to her quarters and take a nap, since it was only four-thirty. She got up from her stool, one hand to her aching head, and headed out of her lab.

As Sam walked down the corridors, she became more and more disoriented. By the time she reached her quarters, she could barely see straight. She stumbled into her room as her vision began to gray out. The door shut behind her, leaving her alone.

She couldn't make it to the bed. She fell to her knees on the floor, unable to summon the energy to shout for help, all she could say before she passed out was, "Jack…" And everything went black.

2


	11. Worry And Fear

Jack, trying to find a distraction from his mission reports, decided to pay Sam a visit. He walked cheerfully down the hall and stopped outside her door. He knocked and went inside.

It was empty. He walked over to her computer, careful not to mess anything up. She appeared to have stopped halfway through her work. The scans that she had be going over were still up on her computer and her notes had stopped in mid-sentence. Carter would _never_ just drop her work and leave like that.

Jack's brow furrowed. He was getting worried. First, she was acting strange during lunch. Now this? He frowned and shook his head. He walked out of the lab and toward the only other place she might be.

He arrived at her quarters and hesitated. Should he knock on the door or just go in? He decided to knock on the door, but when his fist hit the door, it swung open. It was unlocked, that was unusual, especially for Carter.

His mouth dropped open. "Sam!" He ran into the room and dropped to the ground beside his inert team member. "Carter? Carter!" He touched her and she didn't move.

He ran out into the hall and shouted, "Help! I need a medical team! NOW!" An airman in the hall immediately reached for a nearby medical alert button and pushed it, setting off a loud alarm throughout the complex.

It wasn't long before Dr. Frasier rushed in with a medical team and a stretcher. Janet's face dropped when she saw who it was.

She knelt down the floor and checked to see if Sam was breathing and checked her pulse. "What happened?" she asked Jack, who was now standing in the corner of the room, trying to stay out of the way.

"I don't know. Her door was unlocked so I walked in and found her like this. I just…" He looked to be at a loss for words.

Janet nodded and looked at the medical team. "Okay, let's get her to the infirmary." They nodded and loaded Sam onto the stretcher. As soon as she was secure, they rushed out of the room, Janet right beside them and shouting orders all the way.

Jack stayed in the room, shocked by the whole ordeal. As soon as he could move, he headed down to the infirmary. He needed to see that she was alright, she had to be alright. If she wasn't….He wasn't sure what he would do.

Sam was lying very still on a hospital bed. Her face was pale and her breathing was shallow. Jack rushed over an grabbed her hand. "Carter?" No response.

Janet walked over. "What's wrong with her?" Jack asked, concern leaking into his voice.

Janet shook her head. "I didn't see it before. There were no signs. It just…" She shook her head.

"What is it? What's wrong with her?" Jack was desperate now, pleading.

"It's whatever poison they put in her cut. The tek'ma'kel? It's slowing down all her bodily functions. Heart, lungs, everything." Janet sounded desolate, as if she had totally given up.

Jack's heart froze. All he could think was "How long?" His voice sounded just like Janet's, dead.

Janet shook her head again. "There's no way to know. It seems to have sped up since the last time I tested her." She looked at Jack sympathetically. "I'm so sorry Colonel, but I don't know what to do. The only thing I could think of would be a sarcophagus, or maybe a symbiote." Jack was already shaking his head as she said her last suggestion.

"Sam already had to go through that once. She would hate us if we put her through that again, even to save her. So, I guess we need to find her a sarcophagus." Janet nodded in agreement, remembering the nightmares and twisted memories that Jolinar had left behind.

"I'll alert General Hammond then," he said, walking out of the infirmary after one last look at Sam's unconscious form. His head was bent, he knew that his time was limited and it was going to be nearly impossible to find a sarcophagus, but they had to try. Right?

Jack passed Daniel and Teal'c on their way to the infirmary. "What happened?" Daniel asked frantically.

"It's Sam," he said, pointing through the open door to where Sam could be seen on her hospital bed.

Daniel's eyes widened and Teal'c became very still. "Oh my God. What happened?!" The question had a different meaning now.

"It's the poison that Apophis put in her cut. It's slowing down her heart and major organs. It's killing her."

Daniel and even Teal'c looked shocked. They immediately ran into the infirmary, probably to ask Dr. Fraiser if what he said was true, but also to see Sam up close with their own eyes.

Jack walked quickly to General Hammond's office and banged on the door. "Come in." His voice sounded weary.

Jack opened the door and practically leapt into the office. "General, I'm assuming that you heard about Sam?"

The general nodded wearily. "Yes, I heard and I'm very sorry about it. What is it that you want?"

"Janet says that if we can get Sam to a sarcophagus, she can be saved. Permission to ask the Tok'ra if they have a sarcophagus, sir!"

The general thought about it. "If Dr. Fraiser thinks it might work, than I think we should do everything we can. We just got her back, we are not going to lose her again."

Jack nodded and raced out of the room and up to the control room to tell them to contact the Tok'ra.

Daniel and Teal'c came up shortly after they heard the alarms blaring. "What's going on?" Daniel asked curiously.

"We're about to see if the Tok'ra are useful in times of need," Jack said sarcastically.

Just then, the wormhole connected and General Hammond spoke into the microphone. "This is General Hammond. I need to speak to Jacob Carter. Now."

2


	12. Infirmary

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow guys!! I am SO SORRY for the delay!! I know that it has been like a month, but NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) got in the way!! No worries, I did not abandon my fellow Stargate junkies!! Here is the next chapter, short, but to the point! I'll keep working on it! BTW, I did NOT reach my goal of 50,000 words....sad, I know. Well, ENJOY!!!**

* * *

Hammond waited for a response for a few anxious minutes before Jacob appeared on the screen. "What is it George? Is Sam alright?" That was his automatic question every time the SGC called him. Usually, it was unnecessary, but this time he unknowingly asked the right question.

"I'm sorry to have to be the one to say this Jacob, but that's the reason I'm calling." General Hammond looked truly sorry.

"Why? What happened to her? General, you better not be kidding!" Jacob looked distraught.

"I'm afraid not, Jacob. I would explain, but it be better if you come over and see for yourself." Jacob nodded and the video feed cut off.

The wormhole closed and then opened again a few minutes later, depositing Jacob Carter on the ramp.

He ran down the ramp and stopped in front of General Hammond who had come down the ramp to welcome the Tok'ra. "What happened? Where's Samantha?"

"I'll take you to her and explain what I know on the way." General Hammond gestured toward the door and Jacob lead the way out of the gate room.

They started down the corridor. "It happened a few weeks ago. SG-1 went on a recon mission to PVJ-818. It is a forest planet that didn't show any signs of human life. They weren't prepared for what happened.

"While on the mission, Major Carter was kidnapped by some of Apophis's jaffa. They took her through the gate, but the rest of SG-1 saw the symbols.

"Before SG-1 could sneak away to find her, she was tortured by Apophis. The last thing he did to her was poison her. SG-1 rescued her before Apophis was able to heal her with a sarcophagus."

They were almost to the infirmary now. "We had no idea what happened to her until a few days ago and the effects of the poison didn't kick in until today."

Hammond paused at the infirmary door. "She isn't conscious right now."

Jacob moved slowly into the room. His face paled at the sight of his daughter lying in the hospital bed, unaware of what was going on around her.

Jack was sitting beside her, staring at her face. He looked desolate. She hadn't stirred since Janet had brought her there.

Hammond looked at Jacob. "Jack hasn't moved since she was placed there earlier today. I tried to get him to go out with the rest of the team, but he just won't. He barely responds to anything."

Jacob was too worried about his daughter to be angry at Jack. "Wha-?"

Sam was so pale that she was almost translucent. She had dark smudges under her eyes and her lips were colorless. She was covered up to her shoulders with a hospital blanket, but he could tell that she was thinner than usual.

Jacob pulled a chair up to the other side of her bed and pulled Sam's hand into his. "Sam, honey? It's going to be alright. Just hang on." Tears filled the Tok'ra's eyes and he bowed his head to hide them. "Please hold on, don't make me bury my daughter before my time."

Hammond turned away from the intimate scene and watched as Janet Fraiser walked up. "Doctor, is there any new information about Major Carter's condition?"

The small woman sighed and looked down at the files in her hands. One hand moved up to her head to run her fingers through her hair. "General, I am totally lost as to what to do about Sam. Nothing is working! Her body is rejecting all attempts to give her nutrients through an IV and she can't swallow on her own. She might starve to death before her organs shut down."

General Hammond sighed audibly. "Are you sure that there is nothing else we can do?"

Janet looked him directly in his eyes. "The only thing that I can think of is to find a sarcophagus and get her in it, stat. Other than that, it would just prolong her death."

General Hammond through one last glance at his unconscious Major before heading to the briefing room. He had an announcement to make.


	13. Dark Revelations

Major Samantha Carter was lost. It was dark, wherever she was. Where exactly that was, she wasn't sure. She squinted, trying to see through the darkness, but was unable to make anything out. She looked up, to see if there were any constellations that she was familiar with, but the sky was empty.

Sam frowned in frustration. She strained her ears to hear anything, but it was completely silent. She huffed and through her hands in the air in frustration. They came down and slapped her legs. That's when she noticed that she was wearing regulation type BDUs. It wasn't that weird, considering that SG-1 wore them often on base, but seeing as she wasn't sure where she was, it was good to know.

She gave up trying to figure out where she was and started trying to remember what had happened. The last thing that she remembered was feeling tired and dizzy and heading to her room. She didn't remember getting there or what happened after that. Again, a frown marred her face. Well, since she couldn't remember…might as well see if anyone was around.

"Hello?" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth to imitate a megaphone. The sound bounced back to her and, to her dismay, no one answered. She sighed and started feeling around her for walls with one hand while gripping her gun with the other. "Well, I guess I'm alone here…" she trailed off as a sound echoed through the darkness. A rock skittered across the ground.

"Maybe not as alone as I thought," she said trying to peer through the darkness again. The dark was like a blanket, smothering her so she was unable to see anything or anyone around her. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, if anything should choose to attack her, she would be completely helpless! Unable to see, much less aim at, her opponent!

Sam gasped one low breath. Another skittering noise alerted her to a presence. She could feel that she was not alone. She whirled in a circle, gun raised. Adrenaline raced through her body, making it quiver with anticipation and suspense. "Hello?" she called, quietly, tentatively. Again, there was no answer.

After a few moments, there was no noise. Major Carter relaxed and began to put her gun down, when there was yet another skittering noise. This time it was louder and closer to her than before.

Immediately, the gun came back up and Sam turned toward the noise. That's when she saw it. A pair of eyes stared at her ferociously. They glowed yellow and had vertically slit pupils. They looked like enormous cat eyes to Sam. She froze under their enraged stare. She didn't aim her gun, she didn't lift her finger to the trigger. She simply stood. Even when it pounced and tore its great claws into the skin of her neck, killing her instantly.

Selmak jumped when the heart monitor flat lined. "_Doctor!_" Janet jumped at the Tok'ra's dual voice. "_Her heart stopped."_ He looked down at his daughter worriedly.

Jack's eyes flashed open as Doctor Fraiser ran over to Sam's bed. He backed away immediately and let her take control, which she did. She took one look at the machines monitoring Sam's vitals and began shouting orders.

Nurses came running for all directions to help take care of Sam. One brought a defibrillator and began charging the paddles. When they were ready, one of the nurses pulled back Sam's shirt and held it out of the way while the doctor put the paddles in place. "Clear!" she called and shocked Sam's chest. She glanced at the monitor. "Turn it up, just a little!" The nurse complied. Again, Janet shocked her friend's chest. This time however, much to their relief, her heart began again.

Janet put the paddles back into their holders and checked Sam over before letting Selmak and Jack back into their positions beside Sam's bed.

Jack looked at his second in command worriedly. She was so pale and fragile looking, but he knew better. He grasped her hand as if he could hold her there. "You're going to make it," he whispered furiously into her ear. "You are."

Sam looked around. She had died, she knew she had. So why was she back in the darkness? She remembered seeing a flash of something different. The infirmary at the SGC and Doctor Fraiser's face. And…Jack, she saw Jack. He looked worried, the little crease was in between his eyes. She hated seeing him like that.

A skittering noise echoed off to her left and she knew what was happening. They would keep bringing her back, again and again. Every time they brought her back she would come back here, again and again. The knowledge that she was in the infirmary, worrying those she loved, hurt and saddened her. She heard the skittering noise again and saw a flash of the eyes. She didn't do anything as she sensed the monster coming closer.

"Please," she begged. "Don't bring me back."

1


	14. Epiphany

**Auther Note: Wow...Life really catches up!! Especially with exams and studying!! Plus I am working really hard on another story that is actually NOT a FanFic and, of I finish, I may try to get published. Finishing it is the hard part...**

**Random: Hey for all you SyFy fans, did you see the premiere of "Alice"? Dude...words cannot describe how amazing it was!! If you haven't seen it, watch it. If not on TV than on Youtube. It is amazing!! All the girls will LOVE Hatter!! He rocks! It is Andrew-Lee Potts guys!! WATCH ALICE!! And then FanFic it so I can read it!!**

**WARNING: This is short and kinda random but I hope you like it....**

**ENJOY**

Just as Jack had settled down after the panic of Sam's heart stopping, it rang out again. That high pitched whine that meant that her heart, Sam's heart, had stopped beating. Jack's stopped for only a second, before he called out to the doctor.

"Janet!" he yelled, leaping from his chair to be closer to his second in command. Jacob jumped forward too, eager to be near his daughter who now lay dying on the hospital bed.

Again, Janet brought out the paddles and shocked Sam back to life. When she put the paddles away this time, however, she looked sad. She turned to the two men who guarded Sam's bedside so diligently. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what I can do to stop this. It's as though her body has lost the ability to function properly in order for her to live."

Jack clenched his hands into fists and his face hardened. "There has to be something you can do," he said through his teeth.

Jacob also appeared to be in pain. His eyes were pinched shut and his hand went to the bridge of his nose. "Yes, there has to be something, anything."

Janet was shaking her head before he even finished his sentence. Jack closed his eyes, not wanting to see her confirm something he already knew within. Nothing could save Sam now, nothing except a sarcophagus and they had no idea where to find one.

"NO!" Jacob shouted, throwing his hands down. "NO!" He ran from the infirmary. There had to be something that he could do. Something…he stopped in his tracks. There was something he could do. Something only he or one of the Tok'ra could do. He ran back to the infirmary, to share his thought.

**A/N: Like I said. Short. Please review!! I live and breath for your input!! The less reviews the less motivated I will be to write!! (Watch Alice!! I have!! 8 times in fact!! Just a warning, it may cause extreme wonder and excitment, also, it is 4 AMAZING HOURS LONG!! Enjoy, take my wise advice and watch it!!) **

**3 Jemma**


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